Garden Festivals and City Breaks

Keen gardeners should seize the opportunity to visit the World Horticultural Expo in the Netherlands between April 5 and October 7 on a choice of four AmaWaterways' luxury river cruise itineraries. The show, which takes place only every 10 years, covers 66 hectares of parkland and consists of five horticultural worlds and themed zones, connected by wooded areas, with 100 exhibitors from around the world.

Each day also features a cultural programme of music, dance, literature, theatre and visual art from all over the world.

AMA's seven-night Enchanting Rhine cruise, from Amsterdam to Basel, is a typical example, with departures starting on April 19 and costing from £1,459 per person, including all meals, wine with dinner, free Wi-Fi and free use of on-board bicycles, but excluding flights.

River cruising means seeing more in less time, never having to unpack or re-pack, with three of Europe’s most spectacular and historic cities - Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest - on many itineraries.

For more booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury river cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

Save up to £1,450 per person on a cruise to Prague

To celebrate the New Year, luxury boutique river-cruise line Uniworld is offering some fantastic discounts. Save up to £1,450 per person with the ‘Manager’s Discount’ on the Treasures of Prague cruise that goes along the Rhine and Main rivers, if booked by January 31. This is a wonderful opportunity to see some of the most beautiful parts of Central Europe, as well as the fabled city of Prague, the ‘City of Spires’.

There are also other remarkable discounts available, with cruises on the Imperial Waterways of Russia, the enchanting Danube, Portugal , Spain and the Douro river, Castles along the Rhine, Paris and Normandy and Burgundy and Provence. Book by January 31 and you can look to savef up to £900 with the Manager’s Special Discount and from £150 if made before March 31.

Remember that the Uniworld ships are some of the most luxurious sailing the rivers of Europe and have the only Zagat-rated restaurants on the waterways. Other points of distinction include private car door-to-door transfer service, flights from your choice of departure airport and luxuriously appointed riverview staterooms. An added attraction for single people is that many cruises are now available without having to pay a singles supplement.

Check out http://www.uniworldrivercruises.co.uk/ or contact the river-cruise specialists at The Cruise Line Ltd.

World of Cruising - Winter edition now out!

The Winter edition of World of Cruising magazine is now out, and is chock-full of great feature, reviews and news on our favourite subject.

The headline story takes us to the Canadian Arctic with Inuit Indian operation Cruise North Expeditions, while we also visit the Falklands, South Africa, the wonderful Danube - and the Trans-Siberia Railroad!

Among our ship features are the new Queen Elizabeth and Le Boreal, the classic Athena and Sea Cloud and the modern cuisine style of Holland America's Noordam, plus a look at wine-themed cruising and Winter fashion. We also have our essential and original (often imitated but never equalled) Cruise Planner - a gazetteer of all the main cruise liens and their ships.

It all adds up to the best read on the wide world of cruising anywhere, with the best writers, the most eye-catching design and the most accurate and up-to-date info. Happy reading!

Oh, and a very Merry Christmas to all Time Spent at Sea readers - you are a growing bunch these days, and we look forward to seeing even more of you in 2011!!

- Simon Veness, Editor

AMA's New Brochure

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Award-winning river cruise line AMA Waterways has launched its 2011 UK brochure, featuring luxurious voyages in Europe, Russia, Cambodia and Vietnam with a lead-in price of £1,422pp for a seven-night cruise, including all meals, wine with dinner (in Europe), daily excursions and free Wi-Fi.

Eighteen itineraries take in the Rhine, Main, Danube, Rhone, Saone and Moselle, as well as the Volga-Baltic Waterway in Russia and the Mekong in Vietnam and Cambodia. Next year will also see AMA Waterways introducing two new vessels, special events ashore and a wide range of pre- and post-cruise options.

Steve Williams, managing director of Fred. Olsen Travel, which represents AMA in the UK, says: “We are very excited about the launch of a new brochure for 2011 which embraces the introduction of a new ship, AmaLotus, on the Mekong and the AmaKatarina, destined to be the best ship on the Volga."

For maximum flexibility, as many guests prefer to choose their airline or travel by train to join their ship, AMA offers cruise-only pricing. These prices can, however, also be packaged with flights, train, transfers and hotels. For example, Prague, Budapest or Istanbul can be added to the Grand Danube voyage, while hotels in Paris and Barcelona can be combined with the Provence and Spain itineraries. Guests visiting South-East Asia can choose between an eight-day cruise from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City (or vice versa) or a 16-day itinerary combining the cruise with accommodation in Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City.

Oh, and don't forget to come along to the Cruise Show at the Birmingham NEC this weekend!